I never expected to be so intrigued and excited about poop, until a paper in PloS ONE came out in 2011 that demonstrated that a common human pathogen found in human wastewater, Serratia marcescens strain PDR60, caused white pox disease in elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), the foundation species in Caribbean coral reefs.

Caribbean reefs have been plagued by disease in recent years and figuring out the source of the pathogens has been a challenge. Human sewage has long been a suspect, but the science behind this suspicion was always tenuous. I think most people would assume that exposing reefs to partially treated or untreated sewage couldn’t be a good thing, but there were no clear data that made the connection of human sewage to the degradation of corals so clearly until this paper.

Unfortunately, there is plenty of untreated sewage making its way into tropical seas.

In the Caribbean, most sewage isn’t actually treated, rather it is put into containers that sit in the ground — the ground being comprised of porous calcium carbonate rock (limestone) that is characteristically leaky.

Enjoy Osprey Cam Live!

The Ospreys Are Back!
Live views, 24/7, of an Alabama osprey nest. Record your observations and ask our ecologist about what you’re seeing.

What is Cool Green Science?

noun1. Blog where Nature Conservancy scientists, science writers and external experts discuss and debate how conservation can meet the challenges of a 9 billion + planet.

2. Blog with astonishing photos, videos and dispatches of Nature Conservancy science in the field.

3. Home of Weird Nature, The Cooler, Quick Study, Traveling Naturalist and other amazing features.

Cool Green Science is edited by Matt Miller, the Conservancy's deputy director for science communications, and managed by Lisa Feldkamp, an American Council of Learned Societies fellow with the TNC science communications team. Email us your feedback.